


Sworn Brother

by yumecosmos



Series: 100 Prompts [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23465017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yumecosmos/pseuds/yumecosmos
Summary: Link returns to Dodongo's Cavern, feeling numb. Darunia doesn't remember, and yet...(A tribute to one of OoT's most underrated friendships.)
Relationships: Link & Darunia
Series: 100 Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1681465
Comments: 13
Kudos: 31





	Sworn Brother

_Prompt: "Fire"_

Link exits the cavern exhausted and singed, volcanic ash stinging in his eyes, and gratefully breathes in the clear, cool mountain air. For a minute there he thought he was a goner, but he did it. The Dodongos are gone. Navi flits around his head, jingling with pride.

A sound behind him. He whirls, just before a sudden impact knocks him off his feet. Are there more of them? No, he realizes with a rush of relief, it's just Darunia.

"Well done!" says the Goron patriarch with a broad grin, ruffling his hair. It's not like what Mido used to do to him, putting him in a headlock and digging his knuckles in. This is... kind of nice. "Thanks to you, we can once again eat the delicious rocks from Dodongo's Cavern until our stomachs burst!" Darunia booms, and then without warning thumps him on the head so hard that he falls over again. (Still better than Mido.)

He sits up with a groan. Darunia's face turns stormy for a moment, musing about what Ganondorf did, but soon enough his smile returns. "Kid, I like you! How's about you and I become Sworn Brothers?!"

It sounds serious, but Darunia assures him there's no big ceremony involved. They stand, toe to toe, and he lifts his arms in a wide arc. Link mirrors the gesture. A bright red light blossoms between them. As it fades, the Goron ruby floats down into Link's hands. And that's it.

Truth be told, he doesn't get it. He's never had a brother before so he's not sure what it's supposed to feel like. But he likes Darunia, and he is grateful to him for letting him borrow the stone, since Zelda says they need it to save the world.

"Hey everybody," Darunia hollers, "let's see off our brother!" Two more Gorons drop down from the mountainside. They amble toward him, rocky arms spread wide.

"You did great!"

"How 'bout a big Goron hug, Brother?!"

Fearing for his spine, Link backs away slowly. The pair don't seem to get the hint. With a yelp he turns and runs down the trail, only to have a third Brother block his path. He slips between them and escapes up the trail to the summit. Behind him, Darunia laughs and laughs.

* * *

_Is that you, Link...? Oh, it really is Link! You've grown so big since I last saw you!_

He's struck by the fact that Darunia recognizes him without any prompting. His friends back home didn't know him. Even Malon, who would have expected him to age, wasn't sure at first. But Darunia, in spite of having a lot more important things on his mind right now, spots him from across the room and knows him in a second.

_Link...I'm asking you to do this as my Sworn Brother... While I'm trying to deal with the dragon, please save my people!_

Now he starts to feel the responsibility that comes with brotherhood.

_You turned out to be a real man, just as I thought you would!_

Darunia treated him as a capable ally, back when others only saw a hapless child carrying a too-big shield. Believed in him long before he was the Hero of Time.

_Don't forget... Now you and I are true Brothers!_

Link doesn't forget.

* * *

He staggers up the trail, gulping at the clear, thin mountain air. Was it easier last time? He can't remember. The bracelet gleams in the sun, bright and new, and his wrist tries to tell him it's an unfamiliar sensation, but he knows better. It's unbearable sometimes, the lightness of this body, the scars that are missing from his skin. He can't trust his senses and so he's gone numb. Dry as the well in Kakariko that he drained again in a fit of childish spite. Empty as Zelda's wide, wondering eyes.

Reaching the top of the ledge, he nods a greeting to the Goron tending the crop, hefts a bomb flower and chucks it over the ledge. (To his endless annoyance, it takes him two tries.) He hears the boulder crack and starts down the trail, reviewing the layout of the cavern in his mind. It's been a while.

He returns, aching and burnt in too many places because he got cocky. Even now he's numb, the pain sits on the surface of his body and he just exists within it, aware but unaffected. But it's done, the Dodongos are gone... he hears a sound behind him. Right, this is the part where—

The force of Darunia's landing still knocks him off his feet.

"Well done!"

Link tolerates the hair-ruffle, ducks out of the way of the thump on his head. All too familiar.

Darunia is surprised when he turns down the Goron Ruby. "Actually, I just asked for it because I thought you wouldn't let me help for nothing," he admits.

The Goron leader looks flummoxed for a second, then chuckles. "I still appreciate what you did for us."

"If you can trust me," says Link, "what I really want to ask is for you to talk to the king of Hyrule. Tell him what Ganondorf did to you. Ask him to listen to Princess Zelda." Beneath the numbness swells the ache that always comes with saying her name.

Darunia strokes his beard thoughtfully. "I'll send a message. Maybe together, we can convince him. But the offer's still there to become my Sworn Brother! What do you say, kid?"

For the first time Link truly feels what an honor it is to be called Brother by this man, a leader, a father, a warrior who braved dragon-fire to save his people. And a true, faithful friend. He nods, swallowing a sudden lump in his throat.

"If you don't want the Spiritual Stone... I know! Come with me!"

An hour later they're out front of Medigoron's shop and Darunia is handing him a brand new shield. It's strong but light, just the right size for this body. He tries it out, marveling at the craftsmanship. And though he still feels numb, a tiny spark ignites within him at that moment. This is one good thing they've been able to keep. One thing that might come back stronger than before.

"This is, wow. This is great. Thanks... Brother."

Darunia's belly shakes as he waves the others over. "Hey everybody! Come give Link here a warm welcome!"

"How 'bout a big Goron hug, Brother?!"

This time he doesn't run.


End file.
